Pat Bertram is the author of the suspense novels Light Bringer, Daughter Am I, More Deaths Than One, and A Spark of Heavenly Fire. Bertram is also the author of Grief: The Great Yearning, “an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.”

The Enduring Legacy of DeForest Kelley: Actor, Healer, Friend, written by Kelley’s former personal assistant Kristine M Smith, skyrocketed immediately to first place in the non-fiction category at Payloadz.com upon its May 1st release, where it has resolutely remained for three weeks.

In the new 61-page electronic book, Smith compiled the memories and reminiscences of nearly two dozen fans and friends whose lives were blessed and changed forever by the career or kindness of the late actor who portrayed Dr. Leonard “Bones” McCoy in the original Star Trek television series and motion pictures.

“I’m delighted the new book is receiving top honors at Payloadz,” Smith says. “It was a real labor of love for so many of its contributors and for me. And the unanimous, positive reviews of the book have also been gratifying. ”

The e-book reveals that many of Kelley’s devoted fans have gone on to become doctors, nurses, medical technicians, social workers, and other helping professionals, while still other fans continue to impact the world as writers, actors, and teachers.

The success of the new book has also bolstered sales of Smith’s earlier memoir about the actor who became her mentor. DeFOREST KELLEY: A HARVEST OF MEMORIES suffered from an untimely release date, coming as it did just weeks after the attacks on the World Trade Center and Washington D.C. on September 11, 2001, relegating the memoir to easy dismissal by and silence from mainstream media. Now that both books are receiving attention during the recent release of the newest STAR TREK movie, prospects for both books have increased significantly. Smith has been contacted to do radio and podcast interviews from science fiction and golden oldies radio producers.

Smith says, “This June 11th will be the tenth anniversary of the De’s passing. I can’t imagine a greater tribute, at this time – to the man and to the actor – than the timely attention being paid to these two books, along with taking in the wonderful resurrection of the McCoy character as portrayed by Karl Urban. He was able to capture so much of what De’s spirit and sensibilities brought to the role. I hope my two books will show that DeForest Kelley, the man, was every bit as worthy of respect and emulation as was his alter ego.”

Books by Pat Bertram

Available online wherever books and ebooks are sold.

Thirty-seven years after being abandoned on the doorstep of a remote cabin in Colorado, Becka Johnson returns to try to discover her identity, but she only finds more questions. Who has been looking for her all those years? And why are those same people interested in fellow newcomer Philip Hansen?

When twenty-five-year-old Mary Stuart learns she inherited a farm from her recently murdered grandparents -- grandparents her father claimed had died before she was born -- she becomes obsessed with finding out who they were and why someone wanted them dead.

In quarantined Colorado, where hundreds of thousands of people are dying from an unstoppable, bio-engineered disease, investigative reporter Greg Pullman risks everything to discover the truth: Who unleashed the deadly organism? And why?

Bob Stark returns to Denver after 18 years in SE Asia to discover that the mother he buried before he left is dead again. At her new funeral, he sees . . . himself. Is his other self a hoaxer, or is something more sinister going on?

Grief: The Great Yearning is not a how-to but a how-done, a compilation of letters, blog posts, and journal entries Pat Bertram wrote while struggling to survive her first year of grief. This is an exquisite book, wrenching to read, and at the same time full of profound truths.